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REPORT 



COMMITTEE 



APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE CONDITION 



NEW HAVEN BURYING GROUND 



TO PROPOSE A PLAN 



ITS IIMPROVEMENT. 



NEW HAVEN: 

PRINTED BY B. L. HAMLEN. 
1839. 



REPORT. 



The committee appointed to take into consideration the present 
state of the Burying Ground, and the best mode of protecting and 
improving it, beg leave to report : 

That deeming the subject committed to their charge of great 
importance, and of ^ecp interest to this community, the com- 
mittee have held frequent meetings and consultations, made many 
inquiries, and endeavored to collect such information, as should 
enable them to discharge their duties in a manner satisfactory to 
themselves and the public. As the result of their deliberations, 
the committee would respectfully submit for the consideration of 
the proprietors and the citizens of New Haven, a brief history of 
the burying ground, a view of its present condition, and suggest 
a plan for its protection and improvement. 

HISTORY. 

The history of the New Haven burying ground is contained in 
the entries made from time to time upon its records, which have 
been carefully kept from the begiiming. 

From the lirst entry on the records it appears, that the citizens 
of New Haven, having experienced many inconveniences from 
the want of room in the old burying ground, situated on the pub- 
lic square, now occui)ied by the State House, and several unsuc- 
cessful attempts having been made to obtain another : — 

The Hon. .Tames Hillhouse, with the aid of thirty one other cit- 
izens,* purchased, September 9, 179G, near the northwest corner 
of the original town plot, a field of six acres, which was soon af- 
terwards increased to ten acres, with a view to obtain a burial 
place, in the words of the record, " larger, better arranged for 
the acrotnmodation of families, and hij its retired, situation, bet- 
ter calculated to impress the mind with a solemnity becoming the 
repository of the dcad.^' 

This field was levelled and enclosed ; and each of the thirty 
two subscribers agreed to pay fourteen dollars for the purchase 
money and expenses. 

* The names of the tliirty two purchasers are as folhnvs : Jiimrs Hillhouse, Isaac 
Mills, Elizur Goodrich, Simeon Bitldwiii, Joseph Dnihe, Timothy Phelps, Daniel 
Barnes. Titus Street, Jonathan Mix, Elias Beers, JVulhan Beers. Joseph Darlin<r, 
John JS'icult, Uoger Sherman, Jose//h BraiUeij, Abraham Bishop, Pierpont Eda-ards, 
David Daggett, Isaac Beers, Xathanicl Fitch, Jeremiah .itwater, Ohadiah Jlotch- 
tiiss, John Miles '2d, Jonathan Ingrrsoll, Jeremiah Toa-nseml, Henry Daggett, I. Sf 
. A'. Toicnsend, Slejthen Ailing, Gilbert Totten, Frederick Hunt, Mary Hillhouse. 



The proprietors petitioned the General Assembly, held in New 
Haven, October, 1797, for an act of incorporation,* which was 
granted, in the words following : 

" At a Gejieral Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden 
at New Haven on the second Thursday of October, A. D. 1797 : 

" Upon the petition of the Proprietors of the New Burying 
Ground, by their committee James Hillhouse, Joseph Drake, and 
Isaac Mills, shewing to this Assembly that they have caused to 
be purchased ten acres of land situated in the City of New Ha- 
ven, adjoining Grove street, bounded south on said Grove street, 
east on second quarter road so called, west on Plainfield road, and 
north on the heirs of Nathan Mansfield deceased, for the purpose 
of making the same into a burying ground, and praying to be in- 
corporated as per petition on file. 

" Whereupon it is resolved by this Assembly, that said Propri- 
etors and their associates be, and they are hereby ordained and 
constituted a body corporate and politic, for the purpose herein 
mentioned, and shall be known by the name of " The Proprie- 
tors of the New Burying Ground in New Hnven,''^ and by that 
name tliey and their heirs sliall have succession, be capable of 
of suing and being sued, and shall have power at their meetings 
legally warned, to make such rules and regulations as they shall 
judge proper, for the well ordering and managing said burying 
ground, and selling, conveying, and making good title to the 
lots, for the purpose therein expressed. And there shall be a Clerk 
who shall keep and make true entries and records of all proceed- 
ings of said corporation, who shall upon any five of said propri- 
etors making application, warn all meetings, by advertising the 
same at least three days before the same is to be holden, in one 
or more of the newspapers published in the City of New Haven, 
and said proprietors may tax themselves to defray all necessary 
expenses in the well ordering of the same, and Simeon Baldwin, 
Esq. shall be the first Clerk of said corporation, who sliall con- 
tinue in office until another is chosen ; and in case of the death 
or absence of the Clerk, any five of said proprietors may warn a 
meeting as aforesaid. And it is further resolved, that said Bury- 
ing Ground shall forever remain and be used as, and for a bury- 
ing ground, and for that purpose only — and the same and each 



* The idea of securing these lots as a sacred property to each family, was sug- 
gested to Mr. Hillhouse by the following circumstance. He had contemplated 
making a family burying ground on his own properly. But on a visit to an eslate 
formerly occupied by one branch of his fiimily, he noticed with regret, that wlien 
the j)ro])erty passed out of the possession of the family, the family burying ground 
went with the rest into the hands of strangers, and the descendants had no con- 
trol over the graves of their relatives and ancestors, which, though honorably 
protected in tiiis instance, were liable, in other hands, to be neglected, injured, or 
entirely obliterated in the progress of time. To secure to his own, and to the 
families of his fellow citizens, a sacred and inviolable burial place, he conceived 
and executed the design of the New Haven burying ground. 



lot thereof shall forever hereafter be wholly d^empt from the 
payment of taxes, and all liabiUtics to be sold therefor, or for any 
debt whatever due from said corporation or any individual propri- 
etor thereof — and any person or body politic, their heirs, success- 
ors, or assigns, who shall be the proprietor or owner of a lot 
which now is, or hereafter shall be located or laid out in said bu- 
rying ground, shall be a legal member of said corporation, and 
entitled to one vote for every lot he or they shall own or possess, 
provided always that said body jjohtic or cor|)oration shall not be 
capable of holding any other lands or real estate than said de- 
scribed premises, hereby appropriated and set apart for a burying 
ground. 

" A true copy of Record examined by 

" Samuel Wyllys, Secretary^ 

A true copy of record, as registered in the first volume of the 
records of the burying ground. 

Certified by Elisha Munson, Clerk. 

Immediately after the act of incorporation was passed, a meet- 
ing of the proprietors was held, Oct. 30, 1797, and a committee* 
was appointed to ascertain the expenses, and to set a valuation on 
the lots, that they might be sold according to their actual cost, 
and also " to ornament said burying ground whh such kinds, and 
so many rows of trees, as they shall judge advisable." 

At the same meeting, James Hillhouse was requested to convey 
the fee to the proprietors, which he had till then, held in trust. 
Also a standing committeef was appointed to convey lots to pur- 
chasers, and directed to cause the name of each proprietor to be 
painted on the railing of his lot, with the number. 

At the same time, lots were gratuitously set apart, viz : one to 
the President and Fellows of Yale College, one to each of the 
Ecclesiastical Societies then existing, one for the burial of stran- 
gers dying in the city, three for the poor who should die not own- 
ing lots, and one to people of color. 

At a subsequent meeting, Nov. 3, 179S, it was voted, that the 
committee of conveyance present to the minister of each Eccle- 
siastical Society, a deed of the lot adjoining the lot already pre- 
sented to his respective society ; and to President Dwight the lot 
adjoining the lot already presented to Yale College ; and a lot next 
President Dwight's to Professor Meigs, who had aided in survey- 
ing and laying out the ground. 

* Joseph Drake, James Hillhouse, Isaac Mills, Elias Sliipman, Simeon Bald- 
win. 

t Isaac Beers, Simeon Baldwin, Elizur Goodrich, Isaac Mills, Josiah Meigs. 



The Committee previously appointed to ascertain expenses, 
reported at the meeting Nov. 3, 1798 : 

Expenses ah'eady incurred, . . £380 

Estimated expenses of fences, painting, and 
planting, ..... 120 

Making the whole cost of the lots, : £500 or $1666 66 

This estimate included only the lots then laid out in that part 
of the original ground, extending to the second cross alley, mak- 
ing in all, exclusive of tliose already set apart for the objects be- 
fore mentioned, 176 lots, which were valued at such prices, from 
$5 to $10 as would cover the cost, 

April 15, 1799, a committee* was appointed to open a subscrip- 
tion for the purpose of finishing a new range of lots ten deep, in 
continuation of the present tiers northward ; and to procure a 
hearse. 

Sept. 8, 1800. Lot No. 47, a triangular piece of ground, lying 
northwest of the lots before mentioned, and not divided, was 
deeded to the city, (the right of passage being reserved to the 
proprietors,) to be occupied as a common burying ground, in the 
same manner as the old burying ground had been. Also another 
lot (No. 1, in 5th tier) was appropriated for the burial of stran- 
gers ; and lot No. 3 in 5th tier, for the burial of colored people, 
not otherwise provided for. 

At this period, it seems only a part of the lots had been sold, 
and of course the proprietors were in arrears, and were probably 
unwilling to make further advances, either to lay out and im- 
prove new grounds, or to keep in repair those already laid out. 
The atiairs of the Corporation were in a low and discouraging 
state. At this crisis, James Hillhouse, who had incurred most of 
the expenses, came forward and offered to take the whole upon 
himself; to pay off the debts, make the contemplated improve- 
ments, and hold the property until it should be sold at cost to pay 
the whole exfiense. 

We accordingly find that the committee were directed to con- 
vey to James Hillhouse, Esq., all the lots not otherwise disposed 
of, now complete, or to be completed, not including the alleys 
and passages : also to lease to him the ground north, not laid out, 
to be improved by him, till wanted for burial lots : " On condi- 
tion that he release and discharge the pro))rietors from all claims 
or debts due to him or others, on account of expenditures on the 
burying ground ; and that he assume the annuity due to Mrs. 
Mix, and discharge the residue of the purchase money; and that 

* Elias Sliipnian, .Tcames Hillhouse, Joseph Darling, Joseph Drake, Jeremiah 
Townsend, Tilus Street, William Powell. 



he engage to complete the same at his own expense, according to 
the plan proposed, and make a pale fence on the sides, and a slat 
fence in the rear thereof" 

From this time, Sept. 8, 1800, for a period of fifteen years, the 
whole seems to have been managed by Mr. Hillhouse, as there is 
no record of any meeting of the proprietors, till June 8, 1815. 

Mr. Hillhouse, in these transactions, encumbered himself with 
an expense of about $!l400, for which he received the prices of 
the lots sold from time to time, at cost ; which slow and unprofit- 
able method of payment did not reimburse him, till nearly thirty 
years after, and probably then not in full. 

At the meeting June 8, 1815, a committee* was appointed to 
ascertain what repairs were necessary, and to estimate the ex- 
pense. This committee did not report till June 13, 1817. 

There was a meeting June 13, 1817, at which the committee 
reported, in favor of numbering and lettering the lots anew ; of 
appointing a suitable person to superintend repairs ; and of lay- 
ing a tax to meet the expenses which were estimated at ^25. A 
tax was accordingly levied on the proprietors at 25, 50, and 75 cts. 
a lot according to its situation ; and a committeef was appointed 
to repair the fences, and " at then- discretion to cause the poplar 
trees to he removed, and such number of other trees as they may 
judge expedient to be set out in lieu thereof.'''' The committee 
caused one half of the poplars to be removed, but it is not known 
that they set out any trees in lieu thereof The tax above men- 
tioned being found insufficient, an additional tax was laid Jan. 
15, 1818, from 50 cts. to $2 on each lot. 

These are the principal facts in the history of the original ten 
acres. 

PURCHASE OF THE EIGHT ACRES. 

An important addition was made to the original lot Sept. 10, 
1814. The ground to that date had been bounded on the west 
by what was'then called Plainfield road, which ran diagonally 
(near the center) across the present ground, from the southwest 
corner of the 5th tier to the road which now passes from the 
lock northward on the east side of the canal. 

It appears from a paper addressed " to the Mayor, Aldermen, 
and Common Council of the City of New Haven :" 

" That on the 10th of September, 1814, all the lots in the new 
burying ground having been sold, and great distress for want of 



* Stephen Twining, Elisha Munson, John Skinner. 

t Obadiah Hotchkiss, Luther Bradley, John Skinner, Anthony P. Sanford. 



8 

burying ground having been experienced ; thirty two citizens* 
purchased of Henry Daggett, Esq., a lot of eight acres adjoining 
west on Plainlield road, and opposite to the new burying ground." 

" The price of the lot was ^1600, payable in five years, with 
annual interest ; and the lot was by direction of the purchasers, 
and in trust for them, conveyed to Jonathan E. Porter, Esq., as 
their agent for preparing said ground for sale of the lots for pay- 
ment of all dues ; and a provision was made in the deed, that 
any surplus of money or saving in the concern, should be ap- 
plied to the future repairs of the entire ground.'' 

The paper further represents : " That in this process it was 
necessary to shut up the front of Plainfield road, and to open a 
road in lieu of it, on the west of the whole groimd, conforming 
as nearly as might be in width and course with York street." 
This road is now called Ashraun street. 

" Connected with this road, it was necessary to open a street 
east and west so as to join Plainfield road again [near tlie lock], 
and thence extend to the continuation of College street," now 
called Prospect street. "This last arrangement rendered the 
plan of the whole ground complete, by making it a square sur- 
rounded by highways." The canal has since cut off the north- 
east corner. 

The expense of enclosing, levelling, and preparing the ground 
was $926 91, which added to the purchase money before men- 
tioned, l|>1600, and $253 50 paid for land bought of Elizur Good- 
rich and Glover Mansfield for the road, with interest, amounted to 
$2840 as the total debit against the proprietors. 

"As the highways aforesaid were of real value to the city, 
and as the city had no Potter's field ; and as room might be want- 
ing for the removal of monuments from the old ground :" It was 
proposed that the city take the rear of the burying ground, be- 
ing about three acres, and pay for the same together with the 
roads, turnpiking, &c. $840 : which would reduce the debt to 
$2000, and leave 138 lots to be sold at different rates from $3 to 
$25, to pay off the" same. 

PURCHASE OF THREE ACRES BY THE CITY, AND REMOVAL OF MON- 
UMENTS. 

This proposal was subsequently adopted by the city, in the 
transactions of which a full account is to be found in a pamphlet 

* James HiUhouse, Simeon Baldwin, Stephen Ttohiing, Isaac Mills, Gad Peck, 
Nathaniel Rossitcr, Roger Sherman, JVathan Beers, Abraham Bradley 3d, D. L. 
De Forest, Hezekiah Hoiee, Charles Sherman, Ilejiry Daggett, James Goodrich, 
George Hoadly, Jared Bradley, Rcuhen Rice, Willia.m Sherman, Jan., Joel Root, 
Elias Shipman, Amos Troicbridgc, Lucius Mwater, Henry Daggett, Jun., William 
Hotchkiss, William Brintnall, Lockwood De Forest, Wm. W. Woolsey, Scth P. Sta- 
ples, Benjamin R. Foioler, Wm. Leffingioell, Mm. Bishop, Mel Burritt. 



published Jan. 1822, entitled ^' Proceedings of the city of New- 
Haven in the removal of monuments from its ancient burying 
ground, aud the opening of a new ground for burial." 

From which it appears, that, at a court of Common Council 
for the city of New Haven, holden Oct. 27, 1S20, a committee* 
was appointed to take into consideration the situation of the an- 
cient burying ground: — who reported "that said ground was in 
a condition of total neglect, and going to ruin, in a manner which 
they deemed inconsistent with the religions and moral sense of 
this community, and indicating a want of decent respect for the 
memory of the dead," Among other suggestions, the committee 
expressed the opinion, " that the greatest respect which can be 
paid to the memory of the dead, and the feelings of the survivors, 
would be shown by the erection of a solid and permanent wall 
around the ancient ground." "But if the prevailing opinion of 
■ the citizens shall be opposed to any enclosure of the ancient 
ground," they suggested the removal of the monuments to the 
new ground. 

This report was accepted by the Common Council, and it was 
voted, " that it is expedient diat measures be adopted for the re- 
moval of the monuments ; for the erection of a common monu- 
ment in the rear of the Centre .Church ; for obtaining a suitable 
burial place for Yale College ; and also a [jublic burying ground 
to be the property of the city of New Haven ;" and a committeef 
was appointed to devise the wain's and means of accomplishing 
these objects. 

This committee reported the facts before stated, respecting the 
three acres and roads proposed to be sold to the city for .^840; — 
that this tract would be sufficient for all the purposes of a burial 
ground for the city and for Yale College ; — aud that the expense 
of enclosing and levelling the same, together with the removal of 
the monuments and other contingencies, would be ,*^5G0 more, 
making all the expense of purchasing and removal, .'^HOO. A 
portion of this expense the committee thought "might be raised 
by subscription," " but considering the frequency of addresses to 
the justice or charity of individuals, and the great inequality of 
contributions in this form," they " forbore to recommend the 
raising of any monies by subscription," and expressed their opin- 
ion that the proposed removal of the monuments, and the innchase 
of a public burying ground, were "a common concern, which the 
city ought to assume." 

The report was accepted, and the court of Common Council 
unanimously recommended to the Mayor, to call a city meeting : 



* Abraham Bishop, Levi Ives, Samuel Darling, Isaac Gilbert, Wm. Thatcher, 
Win. Baldwin, Rntlicrford Trowhridfic. 

t Elizur (Joodricli. Ohruliuli llotciiUiss, James Ililliiouse, David Daggett, Isaac 
Gilbert, AbralKuu Bishup, William Mix. 

2 



10 

which was accordingly convened Nov. 30, 1820. And it was 
voted that " as the course proposed is respectful to the memory of 
the dead, and satisfactory to the feelings of surviving relatives, 
it is proper that this city assume the expense of accomplishing 
the same, to the extent of the sum proposed." A tax of one cent 
five mills on the dollar was accordingly levied on the grand list 
of the year 1819, to be applied as far as necessary, to the purpose 
proposed. The citizens of Fair Haven having a burying ground 
of their own, were exempted. 

" After the committee* had made every preparation for the re- 
moval, PUBLIC SERVICE was held in the Centre Church on the 
morning of the 26th of June, 1821. A great concourse was as- 
sembled, and the exercises were performed in a very impressive 
and appropriate manner," by the Rev. clergy of the different de- 
nominations, and a funeral address prepared by Abraham Bishop, 
Esq., was pronounced, abounding in eloquent and impressive sen- 
timents suited to the occasion. 

It appears by the report of the superintending committee, of 
which James Hillhouse was chairman, that the lot purchased, 
was levelled, and laid out in conformity with the general plan of 
the burying ground, and was divided as follows : 

Six city squares, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. One square for 
Yale College. One for strangers. One for people of color. 

" After the religious services in the church, the committee ac- 
companied by the President and Officers of the college, com- 
menced the work of removal, by conveying the monuments of 
othcers and students to the new college square. Their next care 
was the removal, on application of survivors, of monuments into 
family lots in the new ground. All the other monuments were 
then removed to city square No. 1, on the north of which are 
two lots reserved for the Methodist and Baptist societies ; the 
other societies having had lots assigned to them in the first dis- 
tribution of the groimd." 

The burial of citizens not having family lots, was commenced 
at the S. W. corner of city scpiare No. 2, — to be continued in 
regular order, till that square shall be filled, "when the burying 
in No. 3, will be commenced at the S. W. corner, and the same 
order without any variation, in the other city squares, and those 
allotted to college, to strangers, and to people of color." 

The report concludes by stating, that the audited expense in- 
cluding the ])urchase of the lot, being $'1289 38, was fully paid 
by the city treasurer. 

From these proceedings it seems it was understood at that time, 
that the city squares from No. 2, to No. 6, were intended for a 
public burying ground for the citizens not having family lots. 

* James Hillhouse, Abraham Bishop, Samuel Merwin, Harry Croswcll, Nathan- 
iel W. Taylor, Wm. Thatcher, Win. Mi.x. 



11 

But by authority of a vote, passed at a city meeting, June, 1836' 
a part of this ground has been sold for private lots. It is to be 
regretted that any disposition of the ground should hav^c been 
made, contrary to the original intention. But it was a natural 
mistake that this generation, not knowing or having forgotten 
the circumstances, and Ihiding this property belonging to the 
city, should suppose they were consulting the public good, by 
selling lots to accommotlate citizens who wished to |)urchase. 

We understand the sales ceased after the subject was explain- 
ed, and that the city clerk is ready to account for the avails, a 
part of which has been applied to the improvement of the 
ground. 

It would be doing great injustice to the innocent purchasers of 
the lots, to disturb them in the possession, especially those who 
have buried relatives in them. 

If the committee understand tlie facts, it would seem incumbent 
on the city to correct the error, by providing other ground, when 
wanted for a conmiop burial place, equal to the portion sold. 

As there has been some misapprehension as to the quantity 
sold, it may be well to state, that of the 3 acres, only about ^ of an 
acre, or i of the whole has been sold, and of this only a part of 
the deeds have been given. The lot for college, the lot for stran- 
gers, the lot for colored people, the city lot No. 1, for ancient 
monuments, have all been reserved entire for the objects intended. 
Of the 5 lots intended for a common burying ground, 2 remain 
untouched, 2 have more than g of each unsold, and only 1 has been 
principally sold for private lots ; so that more than § of the com- 
mon burying ground remains sacred to its original purpose, and 
contains unoccupied ground enough for a generation to come. 

This proceeding is not without precedent. The triangular lot 
No. 47, appropriated for a common burial ground, in the original 
10 acres, was divided and sold by a similar vote of a city meeting 
in 183 1. This seems to have been necessary to preserve the 
symmetry of the ground after the addition of the 8 acres. 

ACT OF INCORPORATION EXTENDED TO THE EIGHT ACRES, AND AS- 
SENT OF THE PROPRIETORS. 

It will be recollected that the act of incorporation, applied only 
to the original lot of ten acres first purchased. The proprietors 
of the eight acres, purchased in 1814, petitioned the General 
Assembly at their Session in May, 1821, to extend the same priv- 
ileges to this addition. An act was accordingly passed, adding 
the said eight acres to the new burying ground, subject to the 
same conditions, and regulations, and entitled to the same privil- 
eges and exemptions ; and making tlie petitioners and purchasers 
members of the corporation, on the same terms and conditions 



12 

provided iu the original act of incorporation. " Provided that 
this act should not take effect till the proprietors of the new bury- 
ing ground should signify their assent." 

The whole ground since that time, has for all practical purpos- 
es, been considered and used as one united burial ground ; but 
the required assent of the proprietors was not legally given till 
May 25th of the present year. 

A meeting was legally warned and held at the town clerk's 
office May 25, 1839, and the following resolutions were ado])ted. 

" Whereas, at a General Assembly of the state of Connecticut, 
held in and for said state in May, 1821 : Upon the petition of the 
proprietors of eight acres of land adjoining the new burying 
ground in the city of New Haven, bounded east on said burying 
ground, south on Grove street, and by highways on other sides : 

It was resolved by said assembly, "that said eight acres of land 
described as aforesaid, be and the same is hereby added to said 
burying ground, subject to the same rules and regulations, and 
entitled to the same privileges and exemptions ; and that the peti- 
tioners and other purchasers shall become members of said corpo- 
ration, on the terms and conditions provided in said resolve." 

" Provided this resolve shall not take effect, until the proprie- 
tors of the new burying ground, in New Haven shall have signi- 
fied their assent thereto." 

" Noil) therefore, in order that said resolve shall take effect : — 

" Voted, that the proprietors of the new burying ground do as- 
sent, and they do hereby signify their assent to said resolve, and 
approbation thereof, passed as aforesaid at the May session of the 
Assembly, 1821; — and agree that the said eight acres become 
part, and the same is hereby made part and parcel of the said new 
burying ground in New Haven, and entitled to all the privileges 
thereof; — and assent that the proprietors of the said eight acres 
be and they are hereby made members of this corporation. 

" Voted, that the proprietors of the said eight acres be and they 
are hereby exempted from all liability for any debts or expenses 
now owing by this corjioration. 

" Voted, that this corporation does not assume or agree to pay 
any debts or expenses heretofore incurred on account of said eight 
acres." 

At the same meeting your committee was appointed to inquire 
into the state of tlie burying ground, and to consider the propriety 
of rei)airing and improving it, with power to add to their numbers, 
and to call on the clerk to warn another meeting. 

The whole ground as enlarged by different purchases, and di- 
minished by the roads around it, now contains 17§ acres. It has 
two gates, each opening into an alley 30 feet wide ; nine parallel 
alleys 24 feet wide ; and four cross alleys IS feet wide. The 
regular plots are ISO feet by GO, each divided into twenty lots 



13 

30 by IS, with the names of the proprietors and numbers on the 
raihngs. Tlie total number of lots is about 700. • 

A committee was appointed in Ai)ril, 1832, to extend the tiers 
northward, by laying out new lots ; and in January, 1833, Elisha 
JMunson, Daniel Brown 2d, and Anthony P. Sanford, were ai>- 
pointed to have the general superintendence of the ground, who 
have from time to time, laid out and enclosed new lots, and made 
repairs to this day. Mr. Munson has been agent or Clerk from 
the beginning. He has aided the connnittec in their investigations 
in a most obliging maimer, and conmiunicated much valuable 
information. 

In looking over the records of these transactions, the committee 
cannot forbear to remark, that they have been deeply impressed 
with a sense of tiie jiropriety, the liberality, and puljlic spirit 
manilcstcd throughout. We see every where the greatest respect 
for the memory of the dead, and for the feelings of the living ; no- 
where a spirit of gain or private advantage ; a cheerful expendi- 
ture for the public good, from which there was neither expected 
nor realized any jnivate emolument ; and the most liberal appropri- 
ation for those objects which were commended by considerations 
of decency or humanity. The religious societies, the clergy, the 
college, and its president, the poor, the colored people, and the 
stranger, dying within our gates, were all remembered, and at dif- 
ferent times provided for. We cannot pass over the names of 
these men, many of whom have gone down to the grave which 
they had provided for others, and some of whom remain still 
among us, without paying this slight tribute of respect and honor 
to their wise, liberal, and Christian policy, in providing a burial 
place, whicli, as expressed in their own record, " from its letired 
situation, should be better calculated to impress the mind with a 
solemnity becoming the repository of the dead." 

In thus honoring all who participated in these transactions, we 
cannot forbear to dwell for a moment, on the character of that 
man, who was the projector and leader of tbe whole ; whose name 
stands at the head of each list of the thirty two, who made the 
first and second purchase ; who in times of discoiu-agement took 
the whole burden upon himself, and expended large sums which 
were not fully refunded 30 years after ; who from beginning to 
end watched over all. — He sleeps in his own burying ground — a 
memorable examjjle of what a good citizen can accomplish who 
looks beyond the narrow limits of personal and temporary interest, 
and sees his own good in tbe good of his fellow men. Tiiis com- 
munity would honor themselves by erecting a public monument 
to his memory. But he needs it not ; his works are his monu- 
ment. As long as New Haven remains what it is ; as long as 
these majestic elms wave their living arches to shade the head 



14 

of the weary at noon day ; as long as Yale College, to wliich he 
was an efficient and never failing friend, continues to be the glory 
of his native state ; as long as Connecticut can boast of a more 
solid provision for universal education than any other state : as 
long as the memory of an upright man, a public benefactor, shall 
be held in honor among men — James Hillhouse ivill not he for- 
gotten. The works of his hands are all around us, and they follow 
him to his rest from his labors: His spirit, ever active, ever 
watchful for the public good, untiring and invincible in its pur- 
suit, breathes every where throughout our city, our State, and 
our institutions, commanding us with sacred authority to do our 
duty. 

The elder portion of our fellow citizens are better acquainted 
with these facts than we can be; and we respectfully request 
them to correct any errors we may have committed in the narra- 
tion. It is important that the facts should be fully ascertained 
before the generation, which alone understands them, passes away. 
The present generation need information. Besides the error of 
selling the city lots, already alluded to, the want of information 
is shown by the fact, that the act of 1821, adding the eight acres 
to the new burying ground, was never assented to till May 25th 
of the present year. During these 18 years, the private lots in 
this part of the burying ground have been liable to be attached 
and sold for debt, and we understand this has happened to some 
of them. 

It may not be decorous for us to speak of the living ; but the 
thanks of this generation are due to several of our respected 
fellow citizens, for the part they have taken in these transactions. 
For the benefit of those who wish to gain more particular infor- 
mation, we would refer to the Hon. Elizur Goodrich, Hon. Sim- 
con Raid win, and Elisha Munson, Esq., all of whom have been 
conversant with the facts from the beginning, having been Clerks 
of the Corporation, and having often acted on various important 
committees ; also to Abraham ]?isliop and James Goodrich, Es- 
quires, who were conspicuous in the purchase of the eight acres, 
and the removal of the monuments, and have devoted much time 
and labor to the improvement of the ground. 

If the present generation, guided by the example of their fa- 
thers, shall manifest a similar spirit, in preserving and improving 
what lias been so wisely and liberally begun, our burial ground 
will continue to be what it once was, and what it ought to be, an 
honor and ornament to the city. 



15 

PRESENT CONDITION. 

Having submitted the past history of the New Haven burying 
ground, the committee would next take a view of its present con- 
dition. 

The ground is imperfectly enclosed. The front fence on Grove 
street, and about 200 feet on Ashmun street, is in good repair, but 
is not, either as a protection or as an ornament, such as the place 
demands. The east, and most of the west side, have a fence 
old and decayed, any part of which may be easily broken 
through or removed, and entrances are made wherever the con- 
venience or caprice of any individual suggests. The north, and 
half of the west side, have only a common rail or pale fence, 
scarcely a defense against animals. The fences are altogether 
weak, decayed, and totally inadequate to protect the ground. 

The consequence is, that the ground instead of being a quiet, 
sacred place, as was intended, has become a thoroughfare, through 
which persons pass in all directions, to different parts of the town. 
Paths are made across private lots and over graves : to open 
which, not only the outside fence has been broken through in va- 
rious places, but the division railings have been broken, and even 
moniavients have been mutilated or thrown down. 

Being open at all places, and at all times, it is the resort of the 
idle, the thoughtless, and the vicious, at all hours of the day and 
night, and especially on the Sabbath, for mere amusement or for 
worse purposes. 

Shrubbery, trees, and monuments, are so liable to be injured, 
that most persons are deterred from attem])ting improvement on 
their private lots, and a great jwrtion of the ground is entirely 
destitute of trees, shrubs, or anything whatever to shade the 
walks, to shelter the grass so as to preserve its verdure in dry sea- 
sons, or to impart a general appearance of care, cultivation, and 
decent ornament, becoming such a place. 

In consequence of the wise and liberal provisions already de- 
tailed, the ground when first laid out, had a deservedly high rep- 
utation, compared with other cemeteries at that time, and was fre- 
quently visited by strangers and admired as a model. But Irom 
the neglect of the improvements already commenced, and the 
want of that cultivation which might have been expected, as well 
as from the far more tasteful and expensive embellishments bestow- 
ed on other cemeteries, our ground has not only lost its celebrity, 
but is visited by strangers with great disapjiointment. 

Its effect upon strangers is well described in the Journal of a 
foreign traveller, a gentleman of great taste and feeling, who 
says in his account of New Haven : " We visited the burial 
ground. It is considered the most beautiful in this country, and 
a traveller following this impression calls it the " Pere la Chaise" 



16 

of America. No two thiags can be more unlike than it and 
Pere la Chaise. The fine trees which abound elsewhere in New 
Haven, arc here excluded. Nothing appears but some straight 
poplars, with their heads dying off, and whicli least of all are 
suited to a spot already too formal, by its flat surface and angular 
lines. Judicious planting might yet make it what it claims to 
be. As it is, that taste must be strangely perverted wlijch should 
prefer Uiis cemetery to that of Monnt Auburn." — Rev. Dr. Reed. 
A similar disappointment has been frequently expressed, by 
those who have recently visited the grou-nd, under the impres- 
sions derived from its former celebrity. 

ENCLOSURE, GATEWAY, &C. 

The committee are unanimously of the opinion, that it is in- 
dispcnsahle to any successful improvement of the ground, that it 
should he enclosed by a strong durable fence. 

Several plans for a fence have been considered, and there has 
been some difference of opinion among the committee as to the 
kind that should be adopted. All agree that it should be the 
best fence, both for durability and ornament, which the funds 
that may be raised shall justify ; such a fence as will effectually 
protect the ground on all sides, prcv.ent its being a thoroughfare 
and place of idle amusement or of vicious resort, and preserve 
the trees, shrubbery, monuments, and other embellishments from 
injury. 

Some have proposed a solid stone wall, of East Haven stone, 
laid in mortar and faced both sides, 8 feet high above ground, 
and IS inches thick. The principal objection to such a wall is 
its expense, which has been estimated at about $10,000. Its 
durabihty and substantial good taste are urged in its favor. It may 
also be added that some of the founders of the cemetery have 
expressed their opinion in its favor, by a note on the map in the 
following words : " Perhaps in more prosperous times the citizens 
may encounter the expense of a stone wall in lieu of the present 
wooden enclosure." 

Some have been in favor of a close board fence, with orna- 
mental piers and cornices and corner towers, in the Egyptian 
style. But as such a fence would be liable to warp and shrink 
in the sun, and to be strained and injured by the winds ; it would 
require frequent repairs and ultimately be almost as expensive 
as stone. 

Taking into consideration expense, durability, and ornament, 
the committee have almost unanimously agreed to recommend 
an open baluster fence as represented in the drawing. 

It is proposed to make this of strong pointed pickets 2^ inches 
square, set in strong railings and supported by substantial cedar 



17 

posts ; to paint, the pickets and railings black or bronze color, to 
have posts at proper distances in the shape of obelisks, corner 
piers, and an ornamental gateway in the Egypt iati style, as ref>- 
resented in the drawing. The whole to be painted and sanded 
in such a manner as to resend^le an iron fence, with stone posts 
and piers. . '. 

Such a, fence would cost about $1 25 per foot, or $;4,50() for 
the whole, exclusive of the gateway, — the distance round the 
ground being 3G70 feet. 

This would be less ejipensive than the stone wall, more dura- 
ble, and less liable to be injured by the sun and winds, than tbe 
board fence. The black paint, it is well known, preserves wood 
a long time, and requires renewing less frequently than other 
paints. It is thought also that an open fence would be more or- 
namental than a close one ; that it would allbrd a better view of 
the shrubbery and trees within ; and be better suited to the 
airy rural style of architecture and gardening peculiar to Aew 
Haven*'. 

It is thought that an ornamental gateway similar to the one 
represented in the drawing, would be apjn'opriate for either fence, 
as an index to point out the entrance, and to impart a tasteful and 
imposing effect to the whole design. 

It is })roposed that this gateway should be the only entrance to 
the ground, and that it should be so constructed as to furnish a 
house for a hearse, and a residence, or at least a lodge for a keeper, 
who might be procured by a small addition to the income of the 
sexton. The expense of the gateway, hearse-house, and keeper's 
residence, as exhibited in the drawing, has been estimated, in 
wood, painted and sanded so as to resemble stone, at $2000 ; in 
East Haven stone, well hammered and faced like St. Paul's 
Chapel, at about $'3,500. 

This arrangement is thought important ; there being but one 
place of ingress or egress, and this constantly under the eye of 
the keeper or his family, would be a great check to mischief. 
The keeper's business would be to take care of the ground, to culti- 
vate the trees and shrubs, to notice any injury and make imme- 
diate repairs, to admit visitors, to open and .close the gates^ and 
to see that the regulations are observed. 

It has been suggested that the gates should be opened at sun- 
rise, and closed at sunset ; and not opened on the Sabbath during 
hours of divine service, except for funeral obsequies. 

* An experienced builder has suggested to dispense with the cedar posts, and to 
substitute iron braces fastened in one end of a rough bhirk of stone under ground, 
the fence resting on the otliiM- end. As there would be no decay of posts; and 
the wood being'^paiuled bhick, the whole would be very strong and durable. 

We understand a bricii wail on stone fotnidations 5 ieet high and 8 inches thick, 
has been estimated at $1 i)2 per foot; whicli would make the whole wall round 
the ground cost a little over .«(70U0. 

3 



18 

It might also be necessary to add some legislative sanctions 
enacting penalties for any trespasses or violation of the regula- 
tions. Trespassers at Mount Auburn are liable to a fine of $50. 

DIVISION RAILINGS. 

The committee find that the division railings are in many places 
decayed or broken, and recommend among the first things, that 
the railings be repaired or made new where necessary, and be 
painted, numbered and lettered with the names of the proprietors. 

PLANTING TREES AND SHRUBS. 

It is the opinion of the committee, that after the ground is 
enclosed in such a manner as to protect the contemplated improve- 
ments, nothing can contribute so much to the beauty and sacred- 
ness of the spot, as judicious plantations of trees and shrubs. 
Such plantations always strike the eye with pleasure in any 
ground, but seem peculiarly suited to the quietness, and solemnity 
appropriate to the repose of the dead. 

The planting of trees around the grave, is a most ancient cus- 
tom. The tomb of Sarah and the Patriarchs was iu a field of 
trees. — Gen. xxiii, 17. Deborah " was buried beneath Bethel, un- 
der an oak." — Gen. xxxv, 8. The bones of Saul and his sons 
were buried "under a tree at Jabesh." — 1 Sam. xxxi, 13. Ma- 
nasseh and Anion were buried in the garden of Uzza. — 2 Kings, 
xxi, 18-26. It was customary when a sepulchre was not iu a 
garden, to surround the grave of the dead with fragrant herbs, 
flowers, &c. " that the clods of the valley shall be sweet unto 
him." — Calmct. " The Greeks and Romans often selected the 
secluded recesses of wooded heights and shaded valleys for sepul- 
chres." The Turks plant a cyfu'ess at the head and foot of the 
grave, and all refined nations have endeavored to cheer the dark- 
ness of the tomb, by the freshness of green trees and the lightsome 
beauty of flowers. 

The most celebrated cemeteries in our times, derive their great- 
est attractions from these sources. Those who are familiar with 
the descriptions of the Turkish burying grounds on the Bospho- 
rus, need not be reminded, that although these grounds are filled 
with gilded marbles and gorgeous displays of oriental art, yet the 
greatness of their efl'cct, is owing chiefly to the dark interminable 
groves of cypress, which shed their sombre shade for miles over 
this vast city of the dead. 

The celebrated " Pere la Chaise" of Paris also, though adorned 
with innumerable monuments of every conceivable form and de- 
gree of splendor, yet, as described by a recent traveller,* it is " so 



Rev. Dr. Ilumplirey. 



19 

thickly set and so darkly shaded with cypress and other ever- 
greens, that one may wander and meditate ibr days and weeks in 
this great field of death, withont being aware of its extent." 
Monnt Anbnrn, in our own country, is less magnificent, but not 
less interesting, and is probably more picturesque, than either. It 
has a great number and variety of extensive and beautiful monu- 
ments, but its great ornament is its large and beautiful grove. 
This fine native forest stretching over upwards of 100 acres, 
with every variety of surlace found in hill and valley, and with 
every kind of tree and shrub, threaded by numberless winding 
paths, has a natural beauty which its fine monuments and other 
works of taste may embellish, but can never equal. 

We cannot expect to rival the splendor of the Turkish cemetery, 
or of " Pere la Chaise," or Mount Auburn. It would be in bad taste 
to attempt it. We have not the extent of ground,* the variety of 
surface, the wealth, or the multitude, of a great city, that contri- 
bute to swell the greatness of these celebrated places. 

But we can show in our ground a tender care for the dead : we 
can protect it ; we can shade it in summer and shelter it in win- 
ter ; we can make green its paths and make peaceful its borders ; 
we can cheer the loneliness and desolation of the grave by the 
verdure of foliage, and the bloom and fragrance of ever varying 
flowers ; we can comfort the mourner, by making the spot where 
the object of his alfections is buried, " the field of peace," and 
make the house of the dead, a place of soothing and instructive, 
though mournful meditation to the living. 

The present arrangement of the grounds does not admit of a 
thick grove over the whole, as at Mount Auburn. The committee 
therefore in view of our wants, and our means, would suggest : 

F'irst, The planting a thick belt of trees around, the lohole 
ground in the space next the outer icall. 

This belt should be as wide as the nature of the ground ad- 
mits ;* the trees should be thick as in a natural forest, and should 
be of the various kinds that thrive in our soil and climate; but 
should have a large proportion, say one half or two thirds, of ever- 
greens — such as the pine, silver fir, hemlock, spruce, white cedar, 
larch, &c. 

The advantage of evergreens is obvious ; they would form a 
thick rich border, which would be an ornament and protection at 

* There is an open space around most of the ground from 24 to 30 feet wide, 
•which admits of a belt next the fence 15 feet wide, a passage about 10 feet wide, 
and a row of trees and border of shrubbery near tlic lots. Tliis wouhl afford a pas- 
sage for tlie hearse, and a sliaded walk round the ground, the intermingling bouglis 
forming a leafy arch over head. 

On a part of the west side, this space is interrupted, where a few lots approach 
the fence. It would be a pleasant variety there to plant only a hedge of evergreens 
next the fence, which might be diversified by an occasional group of trees orshiubs 
in the adjoining alleys. 



20 

all seasons, when other trees are naked, and their dark foliage and 
solitary forms are so strikingly adapted to the object, that both 
poetry and ancient usage have consecrated them as appropriate 
emblems of the grave. 

These should be interspersed with other forest trees, which, by 
their flowers or foliage or changing hues at difterent seasons, 
would give life and variety to the general eflect.* 

Such a belt of dense and variegated foliage, stretching round 
so wide a compass, and presenting here and there a glimpse of the 
monuments within, would in itself be one of the most pleasing 
ornaments of our rural city ; while by shutting out all external 
objects, it would give a peaceful, Sabbath like quietness within, 
harmonizing with the spot " where the weary are at rest." 

Perhaps at first view the expense of such a belt may appear 
great ; but on "examination it will be found small compared with 
the enclosing wall. 

Trees can be obtained in large quantities at a less price than is 
generally supposed. Evergreens from Maine at $6 per hundred, 
and most forest trees from English or our own nurseries for less, 
say from $2 to $5 per hundred. At this price the trees would 
be only from 3 to 5 feet high. There may be an advantage in 
planting larger trees when they stand singly and unprotected ; 
but a thicket like the one proposed always looks well when only 
a few feet high, resembling for the first year or two, dense shrub- 
bery or a waving field of corn. And besides it is pretty well as- 
certained that if the ground be properly prepared, a plantation of 
very young and vigorous trees, will produce a fine grove sooner 
than older ones, which are necessarily much checked by the 
loss of branches and roots in transplanting. 

It has been suggested that such a thicket might be produced 
with very little expense, by scattering the seeds of the maple, 
pine, fir, hemlock, &c. on the ground well prepared. They might 
be thinned by transplanting to other parts of the ground, or sold 
to pay expenses. Sir Walter Scott produced a thicket from seeds 
in a few years. It is a common method of raising forests in 
England. 

Second, Outside. — The committee find that a row of trees 
lias been planted in the street around a part of the ground on 
the outside, and suggest that this row be completed around the 
whole. 

Third, Interior. — A part of the alleys were formerly planted 
on each side with poplars, most of which are now living, and as 

* Among iliese, the maple, linden, sassafras, aspen, silver leaf poplar, tulip tree, 
beech, liirdi. ash, horse chestnut, nioniituin ash, walnut, oak, and elm, mijflit all be 
used with advantage to enliven or soften, or darken the outline. The willow, lo- 
cust, ailanthus, &c., being of rai)id growth, but some of them short lived, might be 
intersp(!rsed among the more slow growing trees, which would take their places 
when they fail. 



21 

many of them have been improved in tlicir appearance by lo[v 
ping, it might be well to lop the rest and let them remain until 
something better should grow up to take their places. 

The extent of what is to be done within, will of course de- 
pend on the amount of funds. But it seems desirable to carry 
out the original plan of lining all the alleys on both sides with 
trees, for instance the two principal avenues, with linden or oak ; 
the others with maple, fir, larch, abele, willow, 6cc. as shall pro- 
duce the best elTect. 

It would add much to the beauty of this plan, to intersperse 
the alleys as far as the openings will admit, with borders of 
shrubbery, or hedges. Such borders might be made at a tri- 
fling expense, by purchasing by the thousand the various shrubs 
sold at the nurseries for hedges, as hawthorns, various kinds of 
native thorn, (many of them beautiful llowering shrubs,) prim, 
tri-thorned acacia or yellow locust, lilac, syringa, arbor vitae, 
&c. ; these may be purchased at from $3 to i^o per thousand. 
Much of this shrubbery might be obtained without any expense 
at all, by making a public request, tliat all who had any surplus 
shrubbery in their gardens, should send it to adorn the burying 
ground. In such a plan, nothing which would grow, would come 
amiss. This would be a most simple and pleasing mode of en- 
listing the feelings of the whole community in the design, and 
would operate to cherish those associations and atiections which 
a whole people ought to feel, in a design common and sacred to all. 

Fourth, Preparing- the Groinid. — The committee would fur- 
ther suggest, that to whatever extent this planting may be car- 
ried, the ground be prepared in such a manner that the trees 
and shrubs will rapidly flourish. Such plantations, in the pres- 
ent condition of the soil, would almost certainly result in great 
loss and disappointment, if not in total failure. Many of the 
trees would die, and most of the rest have a slow, sickly growth. 

To eiisuic success, the ground should bo prepared by deep dig- 
ging or trenching, and strengthened by a plentiful dressing of 
compost, prepared of sods, clay, peat, turf, street and stable ma- 
nure, (fcc. Many of the materials may be obtained by the canal at 
a moderate exjiense, and should be collected early in a mass that it 
may ferment and decompose before used. 

The whole belt of 15 feet wide, contains 1 acre, 43 rods. A 
double border on each alley 4 feet wide, half as nnich more ; ma- 
king in all about 2 acres. 

The expense of trenching is '$00 per acre ; the expense of a 
thorough dressing of compost $60 per acre : so that the whole 
expense of trenching and dressing would be about ^150 per acre,' 
or $:>00 for the whole. 

This is an unusual expense for planting trees, but those who 
have tried it, well know that it is money most profitably expen- 



22 

ded. No one who has not seen the effect, can be fully aware of 
the luxuriant growth thus produced. 

Fifth. — When tliese public improvements commence, private 
improvements will follow. 

Let every proprietor, by precept and example, contribute to 
carry out the general design, by keeping his own ground in or- 
der, and by embellishing it with shrubbery, hedges, railings, 
turfing, monuments, and such ornaments as his taste shall sug- 
gest. 

The whole expense, if fully carried out as suggested, has 
been estimated as follows : 

Trees for belt around the whole, - - - - $350 

Completing row in streets, ----- 5u 

Four hundred large trees to plant alleys, - - 200 
Borders of shrubbery and hedges in alleys, - - 100 

Trenching two acres, ------ ISO 

Compost for do. - - - - - - - 120 

$1000 
Allow for labor of planting and contingent expenses, 500 

$1500 

Fence around the whole ground, - - - - 4500 
Gateway and keeper's residence, - - - - 2000 



Total, - - - - $8000 

The committee submit their plan for consideration. They do 
not suppose it to be perfect ; they expect it to be improved by the 
suggestions wliich it will call forth. The consideration of this 
plan may lead to the adoption of some other, different and better. 
Whether the whole, or a part of this design, or an entirely new 
one shall be adopted, the committee will cordially unite with 
their fellow citizens in any scheme which shall meet general ap- 
probation ; and will not consider their labors lost, if in any man- 
ner they shall contribute to the protection and improvement of 
the burial ground. 

It is believed there is a general feeling in favor of enclosing the 
ground in some manner, and of judicious planting of trees and 
shrubs. 

The committee commenced their deliberations by conversing 
only of partial repairs and improvements. At first tiiey thought 
only of a new fence in the rear, then on the three sides; and 
'finally, after further reflection, they thought it best to propose a 
complete and thorough enclosure and improvement of the ground. 
They think the conmiunity, after reflection, will come to the 
same result, and will prefer to take time and make thorough 



work. It is believed there will be far more spirit, and far more 
probability of success, in undertaking a complete, than a partial 
improvement, and far greater satisfaction with the result. 

The principal objection to the thorough accomplishment of the 
whole work, will probably be the expense. But a little reflection 
will show, that the expense proposed is a small matter for such a 
community, for svch an object. 

Within the last twenty five years the people of New Haven 
have built 9 churches, which together cost about ^150,000: and 
to their honor be it spoken, they cheerfully support public wor- 
ship in them all, at an annual expense of nearly $15,000. If to 
this be added the expense of schools, the city, town, and other 
expenditures, the administration of law and government, the an- 
nual contributions for foreign or domestic charities, the sum pro- 
posed is almost nothing — but a drop in the bucket. 

A few years ago it was necessary to raise $20,000 to secure 
the s]')lendid mineral cabinet for Yale College. It was secured : 
and the inscription on its walls will declare to future times, that 
it was chiefly done by the "Citizens of New Haven." 

A {e\v years later it was necessary to sustain Yale College by 
increasing its funds. The citizens of New Haven again had the 
spirit and ability to raise over !|;20.000. 

Compared with what New Haven has done, and can do again, 
the sum proposed is indeed a trifle. There is no doubt the mo- 
ney can be raised and no one feel the poorer. Whether this shall 
be done by subscription, or tax, or partly by both, the community 
will decide. In whatever manner it shall be attempted, it will 
make the burden (if it can be called a burden) still lighter, to 
make it payable in two or three installments. 

We have received this ground for the smallest possible expense. 
Other cemeteries have been highly adorned by the funds raised 
from the sale of lots at high prices. The least price of a lot in 
Mount Auburn, containing only 300 square feet, is |;80 ; choice 
lots are much higher. In Greenwood, the price for 300 square 
feet is $100. The prices in our ground have been from $5 to 
$20, for lots of 540 square feet — almost double the size. Our 
ground has been conducted with great propriety on a simple re- 
publican principle : the prices have been kept low, so that every 
poor man could own a lot. We have received the lots for a trifle. 
Shall we be unwilling to add a little to this trifle to enhance the 
value and safety of our possession ? 

This ground has been presented to us by the wise and liberal 
care of a former generation, inferior in wealth and numbers to 
ours. Shall we not act in honor of their memories, and for the 
benefit of the [" present and future generations, with an enlarged 
public spirit proportioned to our increased resources ? Other places 



24 

in various parts of the country are bestowing great care upon their 
pubhc cemeteries.* Shall New Haven, which once took the lead 
on this subject, be left far behind the spirit of the age by the fault 
of this generation ? 

We are now called upon, not for a church, or a part of the city, 
or the college, or a distant charity, in which a part of us only 
are directly interested ; but for our common burial ground in 
which we all have an interest. We are called upon to protect 
the ashes of the dead ; to cherish the place where our relatives 
and ourselves may rest in peace. We all have fathers or moth- 
ers, wives or husbands, brothers or sisters, or children, over whose 
graves we would, not willingly have the foot of the wanton or 
wicked rudely to trample. We all look to the grave as our long 
home ; Avho can say he has no interest there, or can grudge the 
trifle that may make it peaceful and pleasant because it is for an- 
other more than for iiimself ? 

Are there any advantages in such improvements as are contem- 
plated, which call upon us to act as a city for the public good ? 

Any one who has been accustomed to look upon our public 
squares and shaded streets with pleasure, and who would regret 
to see these green retreats converted into plains of sand, must be 
sensible that such improvements as are proposed would be a great 
ornament to the city, and a striking proof of its taste and public 
spirit. The complete enclosure of the grounds, the massive 
gateway, the continuous screen of foliage around the whole, the 
verdure of the trees and shrubbery within, the secluded walks 
and shaded alleys, the number and variety of the monuments, 
and the many names of the illustrious dead, would make our 
burial ground a place of great interest to strangers, and of grate- 
ful resort and solemn musinar to our own citizens. He must have 



* The following extract from the New Haven Palladium is an evidence of the 
spirit of the times. 

" Cemeteries. — The ladies of Hingham, Mass., have realizod nearly .^500 from a 
Fair, which was held with a view of defraying; the ex])enso of some contojiiphited 
improvements in the town hurying ground. SVc suggest to the ladies of our own 
town the propriety of taking siniihir steps for the improvement of our City Ceme- 
tery. Our hurying ground, which was once tliought, and justly so, considering 
the indifference then generally ftdt about such matters, to bo a credit and honpr to 
the city, is no longer so now, as all will acknowledge who are at all aware of the 
excellent taste and spirit which prevails in very many other places in regard to 
these matters. In New York City they are laying out an extensive cemetery, 
called Greenwood, which, it is said, may even excel IMount Auburn ! In Balti- 
more, a new one is got up under the name of Green Mount Cemetery. And in 
Philadelphia another celebrated one named " Laurel Hill." From tlie Boston 
Transcript we learn that at Dorchester, the ancient hurying ground has been stri- 
kingly beautified. At Milton, in the same State, they voted .'j^.'jOO in town meeting 
for the improvement of their grave yard. Worcester and Taunton, says the same 
paper, have got up fine cemeteries. So they have at Bangor, Rochester, and many 
other places. We trust wo shall be able to say as much of New Ilaveu ere long ; 
and that the silent mansions of the dead will re(;eiv6 some part of the attentions 
tiiat are here devoted to the residences of the living. 



25 

a bad heart who can visit such a spot without reflections calcula- 
ted to make him a wiser and better man. That community must 
be far less moral and enlightened than ours, which will not be im- 
proved by the silent and impressive lessons taught in such ajilace. 

Such improvements would tend much to cultivate and dilluse 
the growing taste for ornamental gardening, which is not only 
the most innocent and rational of all recreations, but contributes 
much to the health, the comfort, the refinement of maimers and 
morals, and the general hap])iness and prosperity of society. 
Many communities, among refined nations, Avisely provide large 
gardens or public grounds to promote these objects alone : view- 
ing their effects upon the character of the people as a matter of 
political and moral economy. 

Such improvements are not less a matter of public policy and 
patriotism with us. In numbers and wealth our city is small ; 
but as a place of education, its influence is wide as our country. 
Every addition we make to its attractions as a nursery of knowl- 
edge, refinement, morals, and religion, is adding to its prosperity, 
its reputation, and its influence. The young minds gathered 
here for nurture, arc imbibing, not merely from the ordinary 
means of instruction, but from the external objects around them, 
those tastes and feelings, and principles, which will operate for 
weal or for woe, not upon themselves only, but upon this great 
nation, whose destinies are to be controlled by its educated mind 
as surely as there is truth in the axiom that "knowledge is power." 

In neglecting our burial place, are we not neglecting our duty 
as a religious community ? It scarcely seems to be a question to 
be asked, whether it is the duty of an enlightened and christian 
people to pay a sacred respect to the memory of the dead. Next 
to the worship of the Supremo Being, there is probably no duty 
more universally acknowledged by all civilized nations, or more 
carefully observed even by the rudest tribes. The neglect of 
it has always been considered a flagrant trait of barbarism. 
Among the earliest records of history or ])oetry, we find this a 
powerful and universal sentiment. The bones and the ashes of 
the dead have ever been regarded with sacred and tender respect. 
It is a sentiment to which every heart yields a ready and volun- 
tary assent. 

The story of Priam supplicating for the dead body of his son, 
or of jEneas performing long and solemn rites to the shades of 
his father, and the thousand similar passages, are but the poetical 
representation of a universal feeling. 

The catacombs and the pyramids of the ancients; the mauso- 
leums and sepulchres of rock ; the embalming and anointing 
with perfumes and precious ointment : the urns of marble, silver 
and gold ; the garlands and flowers strewed over the grave ; are 
all the symbols of a feeling as universal as man. 

4 



26 

This was not confined to heathen nations. The ancient He- 
brews were extremely careful on this subject, and considered the 
privation of the rites of sepuUure. as one of the greatest dis- 
honors and calamities that could befall any man. The Bible is 
every where full of allusions to this subject. Abraham bought 
the field in Machpelah for 400 shekels of silver : " and the field, 
and the cave therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that 
were in the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham 
for a possession of a burial place." It was preserved by his pos- 
terity, and in it were buried Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Re- 
becca, and Jacob and Leah. 

The Jews provided and preserved sepulchres, with great care, 
in the fields, in their gardens, under trees, in hewn rocks, in 
mountains, and in houses built expressly for the purpose. " Their 
Rabbins taught that it is not lawful to demolish tombs, nor to dis- 
turb the repose of the dead by burying another body in the same 
grave, nor to carry an aqueduct, nor highway across a place of 
burial, nor to go and gather wood there, nor to suffer cattle to 
feed there."* They called the tomb, "the house of the living," 
to show their belief in the immortality of the soul, and the resur- 
rection of the body. Their respect for the sepulchres of their 
great men and prophets was very great. They built synagogues 
near them, and went to pray there, and to worship."! Though 
they reviled and persecuted the living, they " garnished the sep- 
ulchres of the righteous, and builded the tombs of the prophets." 
The kings of Israel and Judah had tombs in the royal gardens of 
Jerusalem and Samaria. The Savior himself was anointed 
with spices and precious ointment, and wrapped in fine linen, 
and laid in a new tomb hewn out of the rock in the garden of 
Joseph of Arimathea. All Christendom has paid reverential hon- 
ors to the Holy Sepulchre, and in all times has inculcated a pious 
care for the dead as a religious duty. 

It is not for us who enjoy the full light of christian civilization, 
to neglect this opportunity of testifying our respect for a senti- 
ment as ancient as the world, and as universal as the human race ; 
especially when it comes down to us sanctioned by that only true 
religion which teaches the great truths of the immortality of the 
soul, and the resurrection of the body. The sublime revelation, 
that these earthly bodies shall become celestial bodies, and this 
mortal shall put on immortality, sheds a new and awful lustre 
over the sanctity of the grave. 

* CaJmet. i lb. 



27 



All which is respectfully submitted by your committee. 



Denis ON Oljisted. 
Eli Ives. 
Samlel St. John. 
Ezra Hotchkiss. 

ElISHA DiCKElOIAN. 
War, W. BOARDMAN. 

Eli W. Blake. 
A. H. Maltby. 
Eli B. Austin. 
HezekIxah Augur. 
Charles Monson. 
Henry Huggins. 
Augustus R. Street. 
A. N. Skinner. 
Henry Peck. 
John Beach. 



Philip S. Galpin. 
Joseph E. Sheffield. 
Leonard Bacon. 
James Brewster. 
Wm. H. Jones. 
Elias Gilbert. 
Benj. M. Sherman. 
Ithiel Town. 
Henry Austin. 
Robert Bakewell. 
Newton Wheeler. 
Stiles French. 
Wm. B. Bristol. 
Robinson Hinman. 
Edward C." Herrick. 
Benj. Silliman, Jr. 



The committee, originally large, has been from time to time 
increased, in order to obtain a full expression of public feeling. 
Several other gentlemen were appointed, but as they were pre- 
vented from attending the deliberations, the publishing commit- 
tee do not feel at liberty to annex their names to the report with- 
out their consent, though some of them have been frequently 
consulted, and most of them have expressed an interest in the 
subject. 



28 

At a meeting of " the Proprietors of the New Burying Ground 
in Neiv Haven,''^ legally warned and held at the City Hall, 
in said New Haven, on the 14th day of September, 1839: — 
Simp:on Baldwin, Esq. was chosen Chairman. 

After a verbal explanation of the proceedings of the Committee 
on improving the Burying Ground, presenting an outline of their 
Report, and an exhibition of the design for the Gate, Fence, and 
Shrubbery, the following resolutions were adopted. 

" Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting, measures 
ought to be taken for the protection and improvement of the 
New Haven Burying Ground. 

" Whereas, The subjects proposed in the report of the com- 
mittee are of great importance and general interest, and upon 
which every citizen ought to be well informed : 

" Resolved, That a committee be appointed to make arrange- 
ments for a general meeting of the Proprietors, and of all who 
feel an interest on the subject, to take the matter into further 
consideration, and adopt such measures thereon as shall be thought 
proper. 

" Resolved, That the former committee be requested to perfect 
their plans, and mature their report, for further consideration, and 
for publication in a pamphlet form, to be circulated among the 
citizens. 

" Voted, That said committee be appointed by the Chairman 
of the meeting." 

It was accordingly done — and the following gentlemen were 
duly appointed, viz. 

.Tames Goodrich, William H. Ellis, 

William Mix, Noyes Darling, 

Philip S. Galpin, Eli B. Austin, 

William H. .Tones, Eli W. Blake, 

Augustus R. Street, Ezra Hotchkiss, 
Joseph E. Sheffield, 

'^ Voted, That the representation of the front view of the Bu- 
rying Ground, together with plans and other views of said ground 
which are now exhibited in the City Hall, be i)laced in some 
public building or suitable room for the inspection of the citizens 
and others who may feel interested in the subject." 

A true extract of record certified by 

Elisha Munson, Clei'k. 






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